Garment with combined pocket and waist suppressor



H. BELL Nov. 16, 1965 GARMENT WITH COMBINED POCKET AND WAIST SUPPRESSOR Filed July 1, 1963 Hamid Bell INVENTOR.

9 BY WW Wm United States Patent Ofiice 3,217,335 Patented Nov. 16,1965

3,217,335 GARMENT WITH CUMMNED POCKET AND WAHST EUPPRESSUR Harold Bell, Gloucester, Mass., assignor to Cape Ann Manufacturing (10., Gloucester, Masa, a corporation of Massachusetts Filed July 1, 1963, Ser. No. 291,965 3 Claims. (Cl. 293) The present invention generally relates to improvements in outer garments and more particularly to improvements in the fit and warmth of jackets and other similar outer wear such as those used for various sports or by persons engaged in other outdoor activities.

An object of the invention is to provide an outer jacket or garment having novel structural arrangements in the waist region of the garment to provide a better fitting method so that the waist of a jacket or the like will properly fit the wearer. Efforts have been made to provide a garment with a snug waistline with the fitting usually being accomplished by the use of drawstrings, belts or elasticized shirrings. While such devices produce some beneficial results, they do not completely fit the garment to the waist region of the wearer since only the lower waist of a jacket is snug inwardly against the body of the wearer. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved construction in garments which accomplishes enhancement of fit and appearance of the garment by incorporating a structure therein which will enable a considerable portion of the vertical length of the waist region of the garment to be fitted in engagement with the body of the wearer thereby providing an attractive appearance for the garment and also at the same time providing additional warmth.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide a garment construction in accordance with the preceding object in which the waist suppressor or fitting apparatus is incorporated into the pocket structure with there being provided a slide-type closure for the pocket which will serve to not only close the pocket but reduce the size of the waist region of the garment for fitting it around the wearer.

Another important feature of the present invention is to provide a pocket structure which has ample freedom for the hands when inserted into the pocket and also providing a structure wherein opening of the pockets will cause relaxing or effective enlargement of the garment to enable sufficient increase in size to receive the hands when inserted into the pockets.

The present construction also eliminates the use of elasticized shirrings, belts, drawstrings or the like which have relatively short effective life or otherwise are rather awkward to manipulate and adjust to the desired position. Accordingly, it is an essential feature of the present invention to provide a combined pocket and waist suppressor which is simple in construction, easy to use, effective for its particular purposes and relatively inexpensive to manutacture.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a jacket illustrating the combined pocket and waist suppressor of the present invention incorporated therein with the slide-type closure in closed condition and the waist region of the garment snug around the wearer;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view similar to FIGURE 1 but with the pocket in open condition illustrating the effective enlargement of the garment and at the same time providing suflicient looseness of the garment to enable the hands to be inserted into the pockets; and

FIGURE 3 is a transverse, sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 3--3 of FIGURE 1 illustrating the structural details of the structure of the present invention.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the numeral 10 generally designates an outer garment incorporating the present invention therein. The garment is in the form of a jacket having the usual sleeves 12, collar 14, main body portion 16 which encircles the torso of the wearer for providing warmth and the lower end of the main body 15 is provided with a waistband 18 all of which may be of conventional construction. A closure 20 such as a slide-type closure or zipper may be employed for retaining the garment in closed relation. Normally, there is provided a side seam 22 extending from the lower edge of the sleeve 12 down to the waistband 18.

The present invention includes a combined pocket and waist region suppressor generally designated by numeral 24 and this structure is incorporated into each of the side seams 22 and serves to eifectively snug the waistband and the portion of the main body 16 above the waistband about the wearers waist region and lower chest cavity for further increasing the warmth characteristics of the jacket and also enhancing the appearance characteristics thereof.

The combined pocket and suppressor of the present invention includes a pocket structure generally designated by numeral 26 and including an inner panel 28 and an outer panel 30 disposed interiorly of the garment material 32 which has an entrance opening or slit 34 defined by reversely bent or folded free edges 36 and 3S respectively. The free edge of the inner panel 28 of the pocket 26 is attached to the reversely folded edge 38 of the rear edge of the slit-like opening 34 by stitching 40 while the free edge of the outer panel 30 is attached to the fabric 32 of the main body by stitching 42 spaced from the reversely folded edge 36 which is retained in its reversely folded condition by stitching 44.

Attached to the garment and overlying the entrance slit 34 is a finishing tape 46 having the upper end thereof of one piece construction as designated by numeral 48 and having a vertical slit 50 defined therein. The stitching 42 secures one edge of the finishing tape 46 to the garment material 32 and stitching 52 secures the other edge of the tape thereto. The inner edges of the tape 46 defining the slit 50 are reversely folded and are attached to interlocking fastener element tapes 54 by stitching 56. The interlocking elements on the tapes 54 are interconnected and detachably connected by virtue of a slider 58 which cooperates with the interlocking elements in the manner of a conventional zipper.

As illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2, the vertical extent of the sliding closure assembly is greater than the entrance slit 34 into the pocket 26 and in normal orientation, the adjacent edges of the slider tapes are spaced from each other so that additional circumferential size is provided for the garment to enable the hand 60 to be freely inser-table into the pocket. However, when the zipper slide 58 is pulled downwardly to close the zipper construction as illustrated in FIGURE 1, the interlocking elements on the edges of the tapes 54 are disposed against each other thereby reducing the circumferential size of the garment for snugging the garment inwardly against the wearer.

The finishing tapes 46 may be considered an overplacket that is sewn to both sides of the garment using the side seams of the garment as the center point. The adjacent or inside edges of the placket are convexly curved and normally disposed as illustrated in FIGURE 2. Thus, when the zipper which is attached to the convex edges of the placket is moved downwardly to its closed position, the zip-per slide will cause the garment to be suppressed at the waist of the wearer throughout the vertical extent of the placket. This provides a closer and more snug fit and further provides additional warmth while not substantially changing the peripheral fit of the garment at the hip or at the lower edge along the waistband since the greatest snugging of the peripheral fit is in the intermediate area of the slide closure or zipper.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. In combination with a jacket of the type having a main body with a waistband at the bottom edge thereof for snugly embracing the Waist region of a wearer, sleeves at the shoulder regions thereof and side seams extending vertically from the waistband to a point underlying the sleeves, the dimensions of the jacket being such that the body member is loosely disposed on the wearer, said body member including a pair of pockets said pockets having edges defining entrance openings generally disposed in alignment with the side seams said pockets extending forwardly from said openings with the dimensions of the body member enabling the hands to be easily inserted into the pockets, the entrance opening defining edges of the entrance opening for the pockets being attached to the body member with the entrance opening to the pockets being in alignment with the side seams and forming a portion thereof, a placket in the form of a pair of tapes extending vertically along the side seams and having the upper ends thereof connected at a point beneath the sleeves, said tapes being attached to the body member in a downwardly diverging manner on opposite sides of the entrance opening and extending across the waistband in spaced relation, each tape having interlocking fastener elements along the facing edges thereof, a slidable element for selectively interlocking the fastener elements on the tapes and bringing the tapes into parallel relation thereby forming a closure for the pockets and also reducing the dimensions of the body member and reducing the circumference of the Waistband to more snugly engage the body of a wearer and at the same time close the entrance opening to the pockets.

2. An outer garment generally in the form of a jacket having sleeves and side seams, and a waistband defining the bottom edge thereof, said side seam extending vertically from the bottom of said sleeve to said waistband, an over-placket having its top portion disposed centrally of said seam, said placket having generally straight edges attached laterally of the side seam and diverging downwardly to the bottom of said waistband in an open condition, a slide-type closure attached to the opposed edges of the over-placket adapted to reduce the peripheral extent of the jacket and waistband when the slide-type closure is closed thereby bringing the opposed edges of the over-placket into engagement, said slide-type closure including a slider element disposed at the upper end of the over-placket when the closure is in open condition.

3. In a garment having sleeves, side seams, a pocket and a waistband the improvement comprising a suppressor for the waistband comprising an over-placket having downwardly divergent edges, said over-placket extending to the bottom of the waistband, said pocket having an opening in alignment with said side seams, said placket being attached to said garment with the side seam of the garment being centered between the adjacent edges of the placket, and a slide-type closure assembly attached to the adjacent edges of the placket for moving said edges into straight line interconnected engagement for elfectively reducing the peripheral size of the garment, said over-placket directly overlying said opening to said pocket whereby the increase in size of the garment when the slide-type closure is in open condition will provide sufficient additional space to enable free movement of the hands into the pockets, said closure including a slider element disposed at the upper end of the over-placket when in open condition, said over-placket being disposed along the side seam whereby the slider element will be concealed under the upper end portion of the sleeve thereby concealing the slider element and also preventing damage thereto.

References Cited by the Applicant UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,927,179 9/ 1933 Levinsohm 296 X 2,150,251 3/1939 Shanhouse 294 2,328,181 8/1943 Bailey 296 2,345,186 3/1944 Elkes 2218 X 2,534,335 1'2/1950 Berrnan 294 3,110,903 11/1963 Burchard 276 X JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner. 

2. AN OUTER GARMENT GENERALLY IN THE FORM OF A JACKET HAVING SLEEVES AND SIDE SEAMS, AND A WAISTBAND DEFINING THE BOTTOM EDGE THEREOF, SAID SIDE SEAM EXTENDING VERTICALLY FROM THE BOTTOM OF SAID SLEEVE TO SAID WAISTBAND, AN OVER-PLACKET HAVING ITS TOP PORTION DISPOSED CENTRALLY OF SAID SEAM, SAID PLACKET HAVING GENERALLY STRAIGHT EDGES ATTACHED LATERALLY OF THE SIDE SEAM AND DIVERGING DOWNWARDLY TO THE BOTTOM OF SAID WAISTBAND IN AN OPEN CONDITION, A SLIDE-TYPE CLOSURE ATTACHED TO THE OPPOSED EDGES OF THE OVER-PLACKET ADAPTED TO REDUCE THE PERIPHERAL EXTENT OF THE JACKET AND WAISTBAND WHEN THE SLIDE-TYPE CLOSURE IS CLOSED THEREBY BRINGING THE OPPOSED EDGES OF THE OVER-PLACKET INTO ENGAGMENT, SLIDE-TYPE CLOSURE INCLUDING A SLIDER ELEMENT DISPOSED AT THE UPPER END OF THE OVER-PLACKET WHEN THE CLOSURE IS IN OPEN CONDITION. 